Swan Valley, Perth, W.A. (May 2019)
During a business trip to Perth I decided to drag my husband along and we stayed an extra couple of nights for some R&R. I have been to Perth a few times in the past for work purposes, usually only for a day or two, so have already seen some of the well known spots around Perth such as Kings Park, Cottesloe Beach and Fremantle. I once even managed a brief day trip to the Margaret River efficiently cramming in a visit to four wineries. This time I wanted to experience somewhere new so I started asking around for other suggestions.
The Swan Valley was recommended so we decided on this destination after learning it is only 30 minutes drive from Perth and has a lot to offer in terms of wineries, cafes, chocolate outlets and nougat stores.
My Google research established we could have booked an organised tour to drive us around at A$100 pp. Instead I decided to rent a car in the city costing only A$50 because this provided flexibility and spontaneity for us to choose where we wanted to go at our own pace without being tied to a schedule. After picking up the rental car on Saturday morning we left Perth CBD at a reasonable time (9.30am) for a relaxing day of tastings.
It was an easy route and we soon arrived at the Swan Valley Visitor centre to collect a map and some tips on where to go from their friendly staff. Before setting off again we stopped for some breakfast around the corner at Padbury’s Cafe which had delicious food although was quite busy and a little noisier than I would have preferred. After breakfast we got back in the car and headed over Barkers Bridge at Guildford into the Swan Valley to start our tour.
Our first stop was Yahava KoffeeWorks for some coffee tasting. This was a new experience and we weren’t sure at first what to do but a friendly woman guided us through as we chose some samples to taste. The surrounding views were lovely despite some brief rain which appeared; we thoroughly enjoyed passing time there until the rain stopped as we looked through all their coffee memorabilia on sale, tasted their coffee and eventually bought some ground coffee beans and chocolate coated coffee beans to take back home.
Shortly up the road our next stop was the Margaret River Chocolate Co. and Providore which are next door to each other. We tasted some Margaret River chocolate (yum but not enough samples on offer! ) and bought some goodies to take back for our children.
At Providore we tasted their assortment of flavoured oil, balsamic vinegars, chutneys and chocolate liqueurs. Although, I was almost put off after seeing a young boy triple dipping his spoon in the chutneys-yuck – while his parents blissfully sampled items elsewhere in the store.
We then continued up the same road looking for ‘All Saints’, which claimed to be the oldest church in WA. After missing the turn-off we eventually found the grounds and parked up in the small car park out front. I walked around the small, quiet graveyard looking at the gravestones and epitaphs before finding the tiny historic church which is still used for services today.
A little peckish, we recalled having driven past a sign for ‘Olive Tea rooms’ so we decided to drive back down the road for a light lunch. We discovered a little cafe set amongst a lovely garden with cute furniture and rustic decor. We ordered some snacks and drinks then sat at a table in the garden. We noticed the woman who took our order picking fresh mint growing nearby for our mocktails – they turned out to be deliciously refreshing.
After lunch we drove around to the historic John Kosovich winery to taste some fortified wines. At this small family owned vineyard we found its tasting room in a basement setting, surrounded by barrels with an amazing scent seeping from them. A man appeared and offered us some tastings. After humbly answering all our questions and telling us about their fortified wines, we asked how long he had been working there and learnt he was part of the family – third generation. As another couple wandered in to taste some wines we pondered on what to buy, eventually choosing half a dozen of mixed fortified wines before setting off again.
Next we ventured further down the road to the House of Honey to taste some mead. This was another new experience for me as I have only ever tried mead once and have certainly never come across mead tastings before. I really enjoyed tasting the various types of mead as the knowledgeable young girl told us all about how they were made and how different flowers made the bees honey and therefore mead taste different. We bought half a dozen and had a quick look around their store, amazed at how busy the store was compared to the adjacent mead tasting area – thinking how all those people were missing out!
For our last winery stop we chose Talijancich Wines, another boutique winery recommended for its fortified wines by the helpful visitor centre earlier that day. It didn’t disappoint. We were thoroughly impressed with their tasty fortified wines and were made to feel really welcome by their friendly staff member as she chatted to us as she took us through tastings of their different wines.
We finished off our tour of the Swan Valley with a stop at Mondo’s for some nougat and then some more chocolate tasting at Whistlers (their dark chocolate coated cherries and milk chocolate coated pretzels are amazing).
What a great day! Hats off to the visitor centre whose recommendations were perfect. I would definitely like to go back again to try some of the other wineries and perhaps a cheese tasting. And hubby can drive next time!
